FIGHTING FOR OFFENSIVE INITIATIVE ON DONBASS FRONT LINES

The warring sides are fighting for the initiative of offensive on the Ukrainian front lines. Since the first days of the year, Russian forces have achieved significant success in the Bakhmut-Soledar area. After completion of the mop up operation in the village of Bakhmutskoe located on the south-eastern outskirts of Soledar, Wagner fighters immediately entered the city. In a few days of heavy street battles, they reached the city center and are now burning Ukrainian soldiers from the apartment buildings and salt mines in the area. The Ukrainian garrison found itself almost completely encircled. After Russians took control of Yakovlevka, they blockaded Soledar from the north. The main road used for Ukrainian supplies which leads to Soledar from the west is already under Russian fire control. At the same time, the Ukrainian military lost control of the village of Podgorodnoe located on the Northern outskirts of Bakhmut. Russian fighters did not enter the city but continued their advance to the north-west and began storming Ukrainian positions near Krasnaya Gora and Paraskovievka. The strategically important road and rail ways between Bakhmut and Soledar located westward risk being cut by Russian forces. To the south of Bakhmut, Wagner fighters are pushing the Ukrainian army out from its positions in the Kleshcheyevka area. They also continue assault operations in Opytnoe as well as in the eastern districts of the city. Meanwhile, in the south of Ukraine, Russian military are preparing for a possible Ukrainian counteroffensive. On the first days of the year, the Ukrainians opened the floodgates of the hydroelectric power stations along the Dnieper river. As a result, the Dnieper rapidly shrunk in the southern regions of the country. In addition, Ukrainian sabotage groups continue their operations aimed to destroy transport infrastructure facilities, including bridges and crossings in the Kherson and Zaporozhie regions. These are signs that Ukrainian troops may be preparing to cross the Dnieper. Ukrainian assault operations could be expected in the area of the Kakhovsky reservoir, in Energodar and at the Zaporizhia NPP. The brisk advance of Russian troops in the Bakhmut-Soledar area likely forced the Ukrainian military to delay any offensive operations and transfer additional forces from the southern regions to the Donbass front lines. However, the risk remains high.